David Alan EkDavid Alan Ek had a successful, award-winning career with the National Park Service, where he led science and natural resource management teams across the country. His natural resources work often tackled complex issues of regional and national scope David's extensive natural resource-related writings have appeared in dozens of science and management publications-and in countless forms intended for audiences of all ages.On the literary side, David writes both fiction and nonfiction. Authentically blending science, history, myth, real landscapes, and psychological suspense, his fiction digs beneath the surface, both literally and metaphorically, to expose the hidden forces shaping the biggest mystery of all-the human condition.His short stories and essays have appeared in Canary-A Literary Journal of the Environmental Crisis, Weber: The Contemporary West, and elsewhere. Pedro's Pickles and the American Dream was his debut novel. Since then, he followed up with the novel, Lizard People: Death Valley Underground, and a nonfiction book, Nowhere Bound: A Spud's Reflections on Climbing and Caving-and Other Useless Toils. David is a member of the Virginia Writers Club and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.When not sciencing or writing, David has been an active rock and mountain climber, caver, and explorer of the American wilds. A native of Seattle, Washington, he currently lives with his wife and dogs in rural northern Virginia. Read More Read Less